


North of Heaven, West of Hell

by DragonSilk



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 21:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6210208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Wonderland, you watched him make hats all day and all night. Your curiosity made you just patient enough to sift through his madness.</p><p>In Storybrooke, he watched as you lived a life with another man. His desire made him want to kiss you, just once, to see if there was any truth to this "true love" rumor. </p><p>Is it possible for a relationship to blossom twice?<br/>Jefferson/Reader</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress. It's been a while since I've done any writing, and I'm rusty. (So very rusty. What are words?) 
> 
> The rating and warnings are subject to change. I debated posting this for a while, but I figure I could use the feedback.
> 
> This prologue is present tense because that tense suited the feel of the curse's stasis. Any chapters from here on will be in past tense. Chapters in Storybrooke will favor Jefferson's perspective while chapters in Wonderland will favor the reader's perspective. Forgive me for making up a lot about Wonderland; I never could get into the Wonderland spin-off.
> 
> I don't own anything. Please enjoy.

The days run together for Jefferson. He knows time isn’t moving. He has all his memories and can tell that every day is the same. After a while, the monotony becomes habit.

After he wakes up in the morning, Grace is always the first one he looks in on. She wakes up early for school, and he watches as she prepares for the day ahead. She picks out her clothes, brushes her hair, and eats her breakfast. Her fake parents never have trouble getting her ready for school. 

Grace always was so well behaved. 

After Grace makes it to school, he shifts his gaze to you. 

You work afternoons at the general store. In the morning, he can sometimes catch glimpses of you through the windows of your house, but he often has to wait until one pm when you leave and walk to your job. You stay at the store for hours, mostly talking to all the customers that come in. 

You loved talking with people. You still do.

While you work, school ends for Grace, and he switches back to watching her. She has friends in this land, and she spends her afternoons playing with them. 

Tea parties exist in this land, too. He just isn’t invited to any of them. 

When it’s time for your shift to end, he turns the telescope to you. He watches as you leave the store and keeps watching until you enter Granny’s. 

There, you meet up with your “husband”. 

He keeps watching as you kiss that man and slide into the booth next to him.

Jefferson knows that he’s torturing himself. Grace seems so happy with her family. You seem so happy with your husband. It’s almost impossible to watch. 

It’s impossible to **not** watch. 

He wants to kiss you. There’s nothing he wants more. True love’s kiss can break any curse, right? And if there’s anything that he knows, even as he watches you with another man, it’s that he _loves_ you. 

But he’s scared the kiss won’t work. He’s also scared that it will. He doesn’t know which outcome would be better. With one outcome, he’s doomed to a life knowing you don’t love him. In the other, you’re doomed to knowing the truth about this town.

So he watches Grace live a life with her new parents. He watches you live a life without him. He makes hats. Hats, hats, hats, and more hats. 

Over and over, his days continue on in the same way. 

Until the day that time starts and everything changes.


	2. Storybrooke 01

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still short. The next one will be in Wonderland from "your" perspective, and it'll be pretty short, too, but they'll get longer as we go along and really get into the plot. I'm just winding up and getting the narrative's framework going.
> 
> Please enjoy~

He always went to the store when he knew that you wouldn’t be there. If he went after Grace made it to school, he could pick up anything that he needed and be out of there well before your shift started. 

He couldn’t face you. He couldn’t talk to you, knowing that you didn’t recognize him. It hurt too much to be treated as if you barely knew him. 

What would he say to you, anyway? _This world suits you. I always hated the way your face was covered in Wonderland._ As if you would have any clue what he was talking about. As if you would care about how beautiful he thought you were. 

So when he walked into the store and saw you there, sitting behind the front counter, he froze. He stared at your smiling face as you welcomed him, and he heard himself asking, “What are you doing here?!” 

Your eyebrows pushed closer together and your lips turned down in a frown. “I work here.” His outburst had caught you by surprise, and he noticed the way your eyes were scanning his face. You were trying to figure out if you knew him.

He tried not to be disappointed when you gave up trying to place an identity to his face. “Have we met?” 

He knew he should say no. Or at least shake his head. He couldn’t do either. He simply backed away, running into the doors before turning and pushing them open. He checked his watch as he ran home. It was too early. Far too early. You shouldn’t be at work now. It wasn’t time for your shift. 

He dropped the keys to his home as he tried to unlock the door. The clock tower in the center of the town chimed as he was picking them up. He remembered hearing it go off earlier in the morning, as Grace was getting ready for school. In the back of his mind, he had noted the sound as something unfamiliar. Something strange.

The curse kept everything exactly the same. Every single day was an exact replica of the day before. His watch might keep time, but time wasn’t moving forward. Not correctly.

Were you the only one who’d broken the cycle? Was he imagining the clock tower? He almost wanted to walk to Grace’s school and watch her. He wanted to see if her day stayed the same. 

He stayed in his tower and waited by the telescope. 

Nothing seemed unusual with Grace. She played with her friends like she normally did after school. Her habits stayed the same. There were little things here and there that seemed new, but he couldn’t be sure they weren’t just his imagination. They weren’t as significant as you going to work hours before your “normal” shift. 

He turned his gaze back to you, and for once, he didn’t know what to expect. 

You were at Granny’s. By yourself. It was too early for dinner, and apparently, your husband was still working—or doing whatever it was he did during the day. Jefferson never cared enough to watch _him_.

You were eating a piece of pie. It almost seemed like you were uncertain about it. Had he ever seen you eat pie before? 

He had to know what was going on. He needed to know if the curse was somehow unraveling. Maybe you would remember him? Or Wonderland? Even if you remembered bits and pieces… well, then you would need someone to tell you that you weren’t crazy. 

He was already out of his home and down the street before he really thought about what he was doing.


	3. Wonderland 01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The very first meeting between the Reader and Jefferson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life got in the way of writing for a long time. However, I'm hoping to get back into it.  
>   
> I'm rusty, and I'm so sorry for that. The only cure is to just keep writing, I think. I know this is short, but chapters for this story will get longer over time, I promise. I hope this isn't too terrible.  
>   
> Please enjoy~

When the Queen’s guards brought the man into the court, you were disinterested at first. The Queen of Hearts was predictable in her wrath, and she inflicted her wrath on many. This wouldn’t be anything new. 

Then they started talking about a magic hat, and you realized that this man was from another world. You were thankful for your mask as it kept your interest from showing even though it was written all over your face. It took all of your concentration to keep perfectly still, and once the man was dragged away, it was hard for you not to follow him. 

As the Queen continued to hold court, your mind kept drifting to the Hatter. You’d never been to any of the other worlds, even though you knew they existed. The other worlds fascinated you, and one day, you wanted to be able to travel to at least one of them. 

Once the Queen dismissed the court, you walked out with the others, carefully keeping your spot in the line. 

It didn’t take long to find the Hatter. The Queen’s orders had been clear, and you knew her palace well. 

Convincing the guard that you should be allowed into the Hatter’s room took a bit longer. The guards were stupid, but they were also loyal to the Queen. Luckily, the Queen hadn’t said the Hatter couldn’t have visitors. 

When you entered the room, you were surprised to find the Hatter had already started a hat. His focus was completely on sewing together two pieces of fabric, and he didn’t notice your entrance. 

You cleared your throat. No response from him. “Hello?” The word came out louder than you intended, and the Hatter jumped. 

“Who are you?” he asked. 

You introduced yourself, giving him your real name, but he stared at you without any change in emotion. Then you realized the issue. He wanted to know your position. “I’m also called Five. The Five of Hearts.” He didn’t seem impressed. Maybe they didn’t have Fives in his world? “Where are you from?” You asked.

“The Enchanted Forest.” He turned back to his hat. “If you aren’t here for anything important, I’m going back to sewing.” 

You’d never heard of the Enchanted Forest. Of course, you didn’t know anything about any of the other worlds. “Would you tell me what it’s like there?”

He froze for a moment. “I have a daughter waiting for me there.” When he resumed his work on the hat, his hands seemed to be moving faster. “I need to get back to her. I don’t have time to talk.” 

You nodded even though he wasn’t looking at you. It was disappointing, but maybe he would be willing to talk to you later. Or maybe once he made the hat he would be willing to let you travel with him? 

No, you were just a Five. He would probably have to escort the Queen somewhere if he managed to make another hat. 

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” He didn’t respond to your question, and after a long moment of silence, you decided to just sit down. 

As you sat in silence, you studied this strange man from another land and wondered if you would ever be able to leave Wonderland.


	4. Storybrooke 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to emulate the feeling of the show a little bit. For that reason, I think the core plot here will be in Storybrooke while the Wonderland bits will mainly be romance. (The plot itself is pretty much romance though...)
> 
> Enjoy?

He chickened out. Of course he did. After making a complete fool of himself in your store, what could he even say to you? _Why hello, are you having visions of another life?_ He might not be completely sane, but Jefferson wasn't stupid. 

Instead, he settled for sitting near you in Granny’s. He watched you, looking for any evidence that the curse was unraveling. 

Being this close to you was torture. He didn’t know what to do. What if you were happy with your husband? Grace seemed to be happy with her new family. It would be selfish for him to ruin that happiness. 

Maybe he should just go back home to his telescope.

“Are you going to order something or what?” Ruby asked, interrupting his internal monologue. 

Jefferson looked up at Ruby. She seemed to be scowling down at him. “Yes,” he said, because it seemed to be the only thing to say. He looked down at the menu in front of him and just pointed to something at random. “I’ll have this.” If he didn’t like it, it didn’t matter. He had more than enough money.

It would be more than enough money for three people, but for him, it was an obscene amount of money. 

“Hell-o!” Ruby said, waving her hand in front of his face. “I don’t have all day.” Jefferson stared at her, unsure what she was upset about. Ruby rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “Did you want fries or fruit on the side?” 

“Fries. No--wait! Fruit!” 

“Anything else?” 

“No, thanks.” He shoved the menu at her, glancing back over to you. You were reading a book and hadn’t looked up. 

“Hey.” Ruby put her hand down on the table, leaning toward him. “She’s married, okay? Don’t get any ideas.” 

Jefferson shook his head. “I’m not,” he protested, unsure exactly what he trying to say he wasn’t doing. Well, his plan to watch you undetected was now out. He didn’t think he could convince Ruby not to say anything to you. He threw some money onto the table, standing up. “Nevermind the order. I’m not hungry anymore.” 

He tried not to stare at you as he left, but he couldn’t stop himself from one last glance. 

He made eye contact with you and almost tripped over his own feet. You were watching him. 

He knew that expression. It was the very first expression he remembered seeing on your face. Something about him had caught your interest and made you curious. 

He took a step toward you, remembering the way you’d asked him about the Enchanted Forest. 

Then Ruby blocked his view of you, shooting him a dirty look as she leaned down to talk to you. 

He shook his head and bolted. 

He had been about to tell you everything. He had been ready to ruin your life, your peaceful existence. 

Once he was safe at home, he turned his telescope to Grace. She was eating dinner with her family. He looked down at his watch. They were running on time. 

He turned the telescope to the town clock. 

The town clock was running on time, too. 

The clock had been stuck for as long as he could remember. If time was really moving forward, did that mean that the curse was breaking? Would it be terrible for him to hope that the curse would break? 

He turned back to Grace. She seemed to be so happy with her family. She had a mother and a father. She had plenty of toys. He missed her so much, but she was better off. Jefferson decided he would do a better job of avoiding you and Grace. Even if he could break the curse for one or both of you, what then? 

Jefferson decided that his girls deserved happiness, and he wouldn’t do anything to ruin that. He went to bed, hoping he wouldn’t have dreams about you. 

He had a hard time sleeping, but when he got up the next day, he was convinced that the events of the day before had been a fluke. He checked the time, and then decided to check on Grace. 

She was still in bed. 

He checked his watch again. She should be dressed for school. She should be eating breakfast. 

He looked back through the telescope and confirmed Grace was still in bed. Why? What was going on? 

Then her “mother” came in and sat on her bed. She placed a hand on Grace’s forehead, and Jefferson recognized the gesture. Was she sick? 

He spent the whole day watching as Grace’s fake mother did her best to take care of Grace. Jefferson knew she was trying, but she didn’t know anything about Grace. Not like he did. He knew exactly which soup would help her feel better and which song to sing to her. 

He should have been taking care of her, and he wasn’t. She might not remember him, but he was letting Grace down. 

In the afternoon, he tried to check on you. He couldn’t find you with his telescope. 

Hope was a cruel thing, but he let himself hope. Maybe the curse was unraveling? Maybe he could find a way back to the Enchanted Forest and take you and Grace with him? 

Yes, both of you were happier, but wouldn’t Grace be happier in her real home? 

Jefferson decided to leave his telescope and go for a walk. He couldn’t help Grace, he didn’t know where you were, but maybe he could figure out why things were changing.


	5. Wonderland 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking the official background for Jefferson into consideration as I'm writing this. :) I'm trying to build this story as much into the canon as possible. So please let me know if I seem to make any mistakes. 
> 
> I take back what I said in the last update, Wonderland will have a bit of a plot after all. 
> 
> Enjoy~

When you took tea to the Hatter’s room, you held your breath, hoping the guards would let you see him. 

Your duties in the Queen’s court kept you from being able to spend time with the Hatter, but the fact that you were part of her court allowed you to see the Hatter. Well, as long as the Queen allowed it. 

She had to know that you were spending time with the man. The guards would have reported that to her. She never said anything about it to you, but if she knew that you were visiting him, then she knew that she had the power to take that away from you.

So you did anything you could to keep her happy. Keeping her happy kept you busy, but it was worth what little time you could scavenge with the Hatter. 

Today, the guard watching the Hatter’s room stepped aside for you. He didn’t bother reaching for the door to help you in, but that was expected. You weren’t the Queen. So you balanced your tea tray with one arm as you opened the door with your other hand. You used your body to push the door further open, doing your best to keep the tea from spilling. 

The Hatter was hard at work and didn’t even look up at your entrance. “I brought tea and sandwiches,” you announced once you cleared the doorway. 

“I’m not hungry,” he mumbled. He didn’t even look up at you. 

“You **have** to eat something. You can’t do magic on an empty stomach.” You pushed a pile of hats off a table and set the tray of food and tea down. 

“I can’t do magic at all,” he mumbled. 

You ignored his protests, seeing that he was at least eyeing the sandwiches. You grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the table, letting any hats on it fall to the floor. You removed your cape, placing it down on the chair. Then you reached back and untied your mask. 

As you pulled the mask away from your face, you sighed. It was always a relief to take it off. You tied the mask to your cape, ensuring that you wouldn’t forget about it and that it wouldn’t get buried, and then sat down in your chair. 

The Hatter was staring at you. You hoped it was because he thought you were beautiful, but it was probably because this was his first time seeing you without the mask. 

“Why do you wear that thing?” he finally asked. 

You pushed the plate of sandwiches toward him and began pouring tea into the cups. “The Queen insists that all members of her court wear them.” 

“Why?”

You shrugged. “I could only speculate, and that’s never a good thing to do out loud. You never know who or what is listening around here,” you said, flicking the teapot with your finger. 

He looked at the teapot and raised his eyebrows. “Really?” 

You held a finger up to your lips and shrugged. Nobody could ever tell who or what was acting as a spy for the Queen. The Hatter had stopped working, so you passed him a plate with a sandwich on it. Then you began to fix your tea exactly the way you liked it. 

The Hatter was still eyeing the sandwich. 

“I’m not going to poison you. The Queen would kill me.” 

“That isn’t what I’m worried about. I know the food here has side effects.” 

You frowned. “When was the last time you ate?” He took a moment to think about it, and that was enough for you. “Eat the sandwich,” you ordered. 

He hesitated, but you knew that he had to be starving by now. You reached across the table and grabbed his sandwich. You took a bite and then put it back down on his place. After swallowing the bite, you took a sip of your tea. 

That seemed to be all the Hatter needed. He wolfed the remains of his sandwich down before getting more from your tray. You pushed a cup of tea at him and passed over the cream and sugar, not knowing how he preferred to take his tea. 

The questions that you had for him would have to wait. You sipped at your tea, deciding that he could have all the sandwiches. You weren’t especially hungry. 

As he devoured the food, you looked around the room. It was insane to think that he’d created this many hats in such a short time period. Reaching over, you grabbed the nearest hat, trying it on for size. Hats weren’t common in Wonderland, but you’d never seen a hat quite like this one. “Are these common in your land?” you asked, trying to figure out how to balance the hat properly on your head. 

The Hatter seemed surprised by your question. “No,” he said. “Hats like that are from another land.” 

He didn’t elaborate, but you wanted to know. “Which land?” 

“It doesn’t matter.” He frowned. “I should get back to work.” 

You pouted, ready to protest, when a noise caught your attention. In one smooth movement, you pulled the hat off your head and leaned down, pulling the hat along the floor as if you were scooping up water with it. Using both hands, you lifted the hat into your lap so that the opening was facing up. You peered down into the hat and glared at the rabbit sitting inside. 

You pulled him out by the scruff of his neck, making eye contact. “In the old days, you never would have spied on a Heart.” 

The rabbit sniffed the air. “I wasn’t spying. The Queen wishes to see you.” 

You hid your disdain. The Queen was far more powerful than you could ever hope to be. “Of course. Tell her that I’ll be right there.” You dropped the rabbit, letting him fall back into the hat. The rabbit and hat both disappeared with a poof. You tilted your head, trying to listen and figure out if he was really gone, but you couldn’t be sure one way or the other. 

“Was that **the** White Rabbit?” Jefferson asked, grabbing your arm. His hand squeezed, and you tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight. 

“No. Ouch!” You grabbed his hand with your own, pulling at his fingers to get him to release you. “It’s just one of his cousins, or a relative of some sort. I don’t know really. There’s so many rabbits...”

His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes seemed to bulge. “Couldn’t he--they--take the Queen of Hearts to Storybrooke? The White Rabbit can jump through portals.” 

You shook your head. “They can only jump around in Wonderland. They can’t leave. Not like the White Rabbit. He and his magic are much older.” 

The Hatter didn't respond. He frowned down at his tea before drinking it all. 

You wondered how he knew about the White Rabbit if he wasn't from Wonderland. He knew enough to be wary about the food, too, even if he didn't know what was okay to eat.

“You've been here before,” you accused.

He nodded but stayed quiet.

You might have pushed for more information, but the Queen was expecting you, and every minute that she waited increased your chances of getting banned from this room. 

So you put your mask back on, tying it tight. You might have curtsied and said goodbye to the Hatter, but he had already gone back to work on another hat. Maybe next time you would get more information from him. 

Not wanting to get ignored, you left without a word. Picking up your skirts, you hurried to the Queen’s throne room. You needed her to let you keep visiting the Hatter. 

When you entered the room, you hurried over to the Queen’s throne, nodding at the other Cards who were present. You sank into a deep curtsy before the Queen. “My Queen.” 

She nodded and waved her hand, allowing you to stand. Her mask kept you from getting an idea of whether or not she was annoyed with you. She whispered and you looked expectantly at the man next to her. 

“The Queen wishes to know if her prisoner is making any progress.” 

Then the Queen should be talking to her prisoner and not you… but you couldn’t say that. “I don’t know, your Majesty.” You weren’t sure that you really understood what he was trying to do and lying to the Queen would be a bad idea. At the same time, you didn’t want him to get in trouble. “He seems focused on his task.”

You watched as the Queen whispered into her horn again. 

“The Queen wishes for him to create a hat that will take her to another world. Do your best to ensure that her prisoner has what he needs to do this.”

“Yes, my Queen.” You curtsied again, hoping that was all she had wanted.

It wasn’t. She leaned back to her tube. 

“The Queen would also like to remind you where your heart lies.” 

How could you forget? You nodded, unsure what to say. Luckily, the Queen didn’t require a response and waved her hand, dismissing you. You backed away, wondering if you would be able to convince the Hatter to stop his work and eat dinner with you later. 

The pain in your chest reminded you that you still had your duties to the Queen to think about.


End file.
